CHÍNH SÁCH SỬ DỤNG TÀI LIỆU LƯU TRỮ Ở VIỆT NAM ttta

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

MINISTRY OF INTERIOR

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

NGUYEN KIM DUNG

POLICIES TO USE ARCHIVES IN VIET NAM

Major: Public Management
Code: 9340403

SUMMARY OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT DOCTORAL THESIS

HA NOI, 2019


The Works was completed at: NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION

Scientific supervisors:

1: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trieu Van Cuong
2: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Hau

Critic 1:
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Critic 2:
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Critic 3:
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Time: at ……… h ….. day … month …. year
The dissertation will be defended in front of the Dissertation assessment Council at
Academy level
Location: Doctorial dissertation defence room - Meeting room…..

Building ……,

National Academy of Public Administration. No.: 77 - Nguyen Chi Thanh Road - Dong
Da District - Hanoi

It is possible to study the dissertation at National Library of Vietnam or library of
National Academy of Public Administration


INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In recent years, the archives using policy coming into being in Viet
Nam has created favorable conditions for individuals and organizations
wishing to access and use archives for certain purposes, contributing to
promotion of socio-economic development, ensurance of political stability,
national security and defense, social order and safety. However, in the
current period, the policy has revealed many inadequacies so it has not fully
promoted the value of archives. In particular, documents expressing the
archives access policy, both widespread access and limited access, are not

well spelt, making it difficult for readers to access many highly valuable
documents in service for research and other legitimate needs. Regulations on
the forms of archives usage are not proactive nor have grasped the society’s
information needs for the propaganda purpose in order to increase the
people's understanding of archives and bring them to the public in a wider
approach. Especially, if the archives are considered a cultural heritage of a
country, they must be secured during use. However, sanctions on violations
of archives protection have not been specified.
Today, the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4.0), known as the
Digital Revolution with such technologies as the Internet, social networks,
cloud computing, mobile, etc. has brought about important achievements, being
applied to all areas of the social life, incl. archives using activities.
Yet, with the ability to spread quickly thanks to technology
applications, archives usage also faces many challenges in terms of
confidentiality, copyright, illegal information copying and forging, and so on.
Thus, for archives usage to promote its effectiveness, the State needs to issue
specific regulations, both professional and legally relevant in terms of
archives and archives protection. Currently, this matter remains a void in the
policy of archives usage. In view of the shortcomings existing in the archives
using policy in Viet Nam, the author believes that improvement of the
archives using policy in order to promote the effectiveness of archives in the
current context is an essential requirement. For that reason, the author has
undertaken the content “Policy to use archives in Viet Nam” as the study
topic for his doctoral thesis.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
2.1. Aims
Systematize the theoretical contents of the archives using policy; Analyze
and assess the policy of archives usage in Viet Nam in association with its
practical situation; Point out the current limitations and shortcomings of the
policy to identify problems to be solved; Propose solutions to improve the

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archives using policy in Viet Nam in order to promote the value of archives.
2.2. Objectives
The thesis focuses major objectives as follows:
- First, present an overview of domestic and foreign researches on
issues related to the thesis topic;
- Second, present the scientific fundamentals of the archives using policy;
- Third, analyze and assess the current situation of the archives using
policy in Viet Nam;
-Fourth, propose solutions for improvement of the archives using
policy to promote the value of archives in Viet Nam in the current period and
the coming years.
3. Target and scope of the study
3.1. Target of the study
The target of the study are the policies on archives usage in Viet Nam.
3.2. Scope of the study
- Regarding the space: The author has selected the archiving agencies
at the Central and provincial levels as the space for the study.
- Regarding the time: The study focuses on the archives using policies
available in Viet Nam since 1986.
- Regarding the content: The author has investigated into such policies
that promote the value of archives as: Policy on archives access; Policy on
organization of archives usage and Policy on archives protection. The contents
of Vietnamese archives using policies have been studied, their practices have
been assessed, thereby, proposing solutions to improve the contents.
4. Research Methodology
4.1. Methodology
The study has been approached by means of the Marxism-Leninism,

Ho Chi Minh Ideology and the Party’s viewpoints, guidelines on archival
work, thereby perceiving, evaluating and proposing issues related to the
archives using policy in Viet Nam.
The thesis has employed both the theories of Public policies, Public
Administration Management under the reformation and development model
and the practical research on the State’s ability to provide public services. In
addition, the researcher has also selected a practical approach based on the
results of representative research surveys to analyze and evaluate the
contents of the thesis.
4.2. Research methods
a. Information and data collecting methods
- Methods of studying secondary documents: Summarizing and
inheriting the research results from books, textbooks, scientific topics,
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doctoral theses, master theses, articles and many other sources related to the
research content; Studying the Party's policies and guidelines, the State's
policies and laws, and documents on the State management of archival work.
- Methods of sociological investigation: Developing the content of survey
questionnaires and sending the survey forms to the archiving agencies at the
Central and local levels to carry out the survey content as required by the thesis.
The total number of copies issued is 34 with 34 copies collected (including 4
archiving agencies at the Central and 30 archiving agencies locally).
- Method of expert utilization: The author has formulated the
questionnaire and sent it to the experts, with 15 copies delivered and 15
copies collected.
b. Information and data processing methods
Mathematical statistics and use of computer software are employed to
process the research results, make tables and map the research results.

c. Analyzing and assessing methods
The analysis of the current situation of archives usage from the
information collected, summarized and field surveyed has enabled the
researcher to have an objective view of the archives using policy in Viet Nam
today, thereby proposing solutions suiting the practical situation and
orientation for future development.
d. Historical and logical methods
The author has made use of his knowledge of history to present the
archives using policy in Viet Nam by different historic periods, aimed at
ensuring logics of the research contents.
5. Research questions and scientific hypothesis
5.1. Research questions
- What is included in the archives using policy?
- What are the shortcomings of the archives using policy in Viet Nam currently?
- What should be done to improve the archives using policy in Viet
Nam currently?
5.2. Scientific hypothesis
The regulations of the existing the archives using policy are not
specific nor uniform and have certain gaps, which has influenced the
effectiveness of the archives using activities without bringing into full play
the value of the archives. If these regulations are reasonably completed, the
effectiveness of archives usage will be enhanced, better serving various
purposes of the social life.
6. New contributions given in the thesis
- The thesis has clarified the concept of archives using policy; factors
affecting the content of the archives using policy; criteria for evaluating the
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archives using policy, serving as the theoretical basis for completing the

archives using policy in Viet Nam.
- The thesis systematically has touched upon the archives usage
policies in Viet Nam from three aspects: The policy of accessing archives,
the policy of organizing archives usage and the policy of archives protection;
analyzed and assessed the current status of these policies to find their
advantages and limitations, thereby proposing contents to complete the
current archives using policy in Viet Nam.
7. Scientific and practical significance
7.1. Scientific significance
The thesis has not only contributed to completing the scientific
fundamentals, but also provided arguments to supplement and complete the
Party’s theory, viewpoints, policies and guidelines on the archives using
policy in Viet Nam.
7.2. Practical significance
The thesis shall provide more theory and practical scientific evidence to
the related agencies for reference during implementation and completion of
Vietnamese archives using policy in line with the current situation and context.
8. Structure of the thesis
Apart from the Introduction, the Conclusions, the Reference and
Appendix, the thesis is comprised of 4 chapters as follows.
Chapter 1. Overview of studies related to the thesis
Chapter 2. Scientific fundamentals on the archives using policy
Chapter 3. Current status of the archives using policy in Viet Nam
Chapter 4. Towards completion of the archives using policy in Viet Nam
CONTENTS
Chapter 1.
OVERVIEW OF STUDIES RELATED TO THE THESIS
1.1. Inland and oversea studies related to the thesis
The author has classified the related studies into groups as follows.
- Archives usage

- Policies and public policies
- Archives using policies
From an investigation into the related studies by inland and oversea
researchers, the author has observed that the scientific works published in
books, teaching materials, doctoral thesises, master dissertations,
presentations at scientific conferences, articles in specialized journals and
websites have touched various aspects relating to the contents of archives
usage, policies and public policies, and archives using policies. However, the
studies on archives usage have not come up with comprehensive analysis and
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assessment of archives access, organization of archives usage and archives
protection, which are issues directly affecting the effectiveness of archives
usage in order to promote the value of archives in the current period.
Moreover, the studies are published mainly in the form of exchanges
and discussions in forums, seminars and specialized journals, accordingly,
the content, scope of content and approaches are still fragmented and not
highly generalized nor comprehensive.
1.2. General assessment of the studies
The studies have generally embarked on the issues below.
- Regulations by countries on the right to widespread access and restricted
access to archives;
- Regulations by countries on forms of organizing archives usage to
promote the value of archives. Particularly, in the context of the information
society and the vigorous development of the Industrial Revolution 4.0,
several studies inland and overseas have touched upon new forms of using
archives via the Internet to meet the readers’ needs of looking up information
every time everywhere;
- Regulations by countries on archives protection, namely, Regulations on

archives storehouse building; those on microfilm photocopying for archives
safety; and those on protection of archives’ integrity during usage.
Especially, owing to scientific and technological development, archives
digitalization for the safety of the original archives has also been mentioned
in the studies.
1.3. Issues put forward for further research
- The thesis needs to explore a new theoretical system on the archives
using policy including: the internal content of the archives using policy,
factors affecting the content of the archives using policy, the criteria for
assessing the archives using policy to serve as a basis for completing the
archives using policy.
- Analyze the current status of the archives using policy in Viet Nam by
means of particular policies, namely, Policy of archives access, Policy of
archives usage organization and Policy of archives protection; Evaluate the
obtained results via the policies already issued in Viet Nam.
- Propose contents to complete the archives using policy in Viet Nam
in order to promote the value of archives, suiting Vietnamese political,
economic, cultural and social conditions and meeting the requirement of
international integration.
Minor conclusion of Chapter 1
The studies inland and overseas have highlighted the theoretical and
practical issues of policies, public policies and archives usage. These studies
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are somewhat related to the archives using policy but have not focused on
fully studying the archives using policy in Viet Nam.
It could be said that effective archives usage is sure to push up multiface development of the social life in a positive manner. Thus, the State’s
intervention by means of policies for archives using activities is an essential
requirement to promote the archives’ value in Viet Nam, meeting the needs

for information of the society in the current context.
Chapter 2.
SCIENTIFIC FUNDAMENTALS OF THE ARCHIVES USING POLICY
2.1. Archives and archives usage
2.1.1. Archives
2.1.1.1. Concept of archives
In Viet Nam, the Law of Archive in 2011 sets “Archives refers to a
valuable document serving practical activities, scientific research and history,
selected for archiving; Archives means the original, genuine copy; In case the
original copy is no longer available, it will be replaced with a legal copy”.
2.1.1.2. Features of archives
- Archives means the original, genuine copy of a document.
- Archives normally includes 1 or 2 copies.
- A lot of archives contain national secrets, corporate secrets and
personal secrets.
- Under the State’s uniform management, archives are registered,
preserved, studied and used according to regulations of the law.
2.1.1.3. Value of archives
Archives are valuable in various fields: politics, economics, culture,
education, society, medical, science technology and the State’s management.
2.1.1.4. Forms of archives
Forms of archives include: Administrative documents, scientific and
technological materials, audio-visual materials, archives belonging to individuals,
families (hereinafter called ‘personal archives’), and electronic documents.
2.1.2. Archives usage
2.1.2.1. Concept of archives usage
Archives usage is the work performed by archiving agencies and
organizations, or bodies and individuals that use archives in order to promote
the value of archives and serve the fields of social life. Archives usage is
conducted in many different forms on the basis of ensuring the right to access

information and the State’s secrets, and safely protecting archives.
2.1.2.2. Forms of archives usage
Forms of archives usage include traditional forms and those in the time
of the Industrial Revolution 4.0.
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2.2. Public policies and the archives using policy
2.2.1. Concept and features of public policies
- Concept
Public policies include all decisions related to one another, issued by
the State, comprising of objectives and measures to handle a public issue,
aiming at pushing the society to develop as per the orientation.
- Features
+ On the form of expression
Public policies must be presented in a concrete physical form before
execution, and document is that physical entity.
+ On the subject of public policies
The National Assembly, the Government, ministries, ministerial-level
bodies, local governments
+ On the structure of public policies
Two main components: Objectives and measures
2.2.2. Concept of the archives using policy
The archives using policy includes all regulations issued by the State to
tackle problems arising during archives usage, namely, regulations on
archives access, organization of archives usage and archives protection,
towards promoting the value of archives to serve the needs of the social life.
2.2.3. Factors affecting the content of the archives using policy
2.2.3.1. Policies and guidelines of the ruling Party
In Viet Nam, regarding the archives using activities, the Communist Party’s

viewpoints act as an important basis for the State to adjust the content of archives
usage in line with the objectives of each stage, each period of development.
2.2.3.2. Demand for country management in each period
- In time of renovation, the orientation for the State construction is
specified as the socialist law-based State of the people, by the people and for
the people. Therefore, all provisions of the policy must also aim at building a
socialist law-based State.
- Issues on protection of the national sovereignty and security in the
current period are undergoing complicated movements, therefore, the
contents of available policies must also be suitable for the new situation.
- The Industrial Revolution 4.0 is also exerting a profound impact on
the types of archives and forms of archives usage. In this context, the content
of the archives using policy must also change accordingly, meeting the needs
of archives usage in various approaches.
2.2.3.3. Capacity of making policies
The contents of policies largely depend on the policy making capacity.
If policymakers often pay attention to and improve the policy-making
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expertise, then the policies will be highly feasible, enhancing the
effectiveness of archives usage. On the contrary, if policymakers lack interest
in learning to improve their qualification and expertise, they will produce less
feasible and ineffective policies.
2.2.4. Criteria for evaluating the archives using policy
- The uniformity of the policy demonstrates the consistency between
the provisions given in the policy content, without any overlapping,
duplication or conflicts against each other.
- The validity of the policy is considered in two aspects: legal validity
and practical validity.

- The effectiveness of the policy is expressed in the benefits it brings to
the society, including the results achieved in the policy to create positive
changes in social life.
- The equity of the policy is an important criterion and basis for
implementing the principle of "equality and mutual development" set by the
Party and the State.
2.2.5. Investigation into the archives using policy in some countries and
the experiences drawn for Viet Nam
From the practices in other countries, some experiences drawn can be
applicable to the archives using policy in Viet Nam, including:
First, regarding the archives access policy, the State needs to issue
clearer regulations on the archives accessing time, the access targets, the
conditions for archives access and the responsibilities of archiving agencies
for authorizing access to archives.
First of all, documents with restricted access should be divided into
categories: the public archives formed during the operation of the State
agencies and units, the personal documents and the documents prone to
damage. For each of the above mentioned documents, it is necessary to base
on the content and its physical properties to specify the accessing time, the
form, the procedure for accessing particular documents.
Second, the policy of archives usage organization needs to include
forms of using archives via the Internet and better specify the procedures and
conditions to implement other forms of archives usage.
Regarding the fee for archives usage, the State should issue more
specific regulations on the archives using fee, including the provision of free
usage for agencies and organizations who are the source depositing in the
archiving agencies.
Third, regarding the policy of archives protection, the State should have
provisions on financial support and preservation techniques for personal
archives. Regarding the purchase and sale of personal archives to foreign

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countries for commercial purposes, affecting the national politics and security,
and at the same time, losing precious and rare documents, the State should take
measures to prevent these acts while encouraging individuals and organizations
to give and sell their archives to the archiving agencies in various ways.
The State also needs to have specific regulations on building
storehouses and supplying equipment for preserving archives and handling
acts of infringing upon archives. For instance, levels of administrative
sanctions in the form of fines are specified if the archives are damaged or
altered. In the event of acts which seriously affect the archives, such as losing
the archives or stealing the archives, they may be criminally handled as
stipulated by the law.
Minor conclusion of Chapter 2
To keep up with the trend of countries in the world in expanding access
to archives, enabling archives to get closer to the public, ready to proactively
cooperate with countries for the common national development, research on
the archives using policy is essential in the society with information
explosion as today.
The contents under research in Chapter 2, composed of basic
theoretical issues, such as the concept of archives, the value of archives and
archives usage; public policies, the archives using policy, factors affecting
the content of the archives using policy, and the criteria for evaluating the
archives using policy, have clarified the theoretical viewpoint of archives
using policy, creating backgrounds for the study of solutions given in the
archives using policy to promote the value of archives.
Besides, Chapter 2 has also presented the experiences of other
countries on the policies of archives access, archives usage organization and
archives protection. These experiences have elicited useful lessons for us to

complete the archives using policy in line with Vietnamese actual conditions
and circumstances.
Chapter 3.
CURRENT STATUS OF THE ARCHIVES USING POLICY IN VIET NAM
3.1. Existing system of archiving agencies in Viet Nam
3.1.1. Archiving agencies at Central level
Presently in Viet Nam, the archiving agencies at Central level include 4
National Archives Centres (I, II, III, IV), non-business units of the Department of
the State Records and Archives. These are the agencies that directly collect,
preserve and organize to use archives with political, economic, cultural and
social values, formed during the operation of the Central bodies and
organizations, of individuals and families, of typical families through historical
periods of Vietnamese nation.
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3.1.2. Archiving agencies at provincial and Central city levels (called as
‘archiving agencies at provincial level’ hereinafter)
The archives centres in provinces are called ‘archiving agencies at
provincial level’ belonging to the Department of Records and Archives,
which are the agencies that directly collect, preserve and organize to use
archives with political, economic, cultural and social values, formed during
the operation of the local agencies and organizations, of individuals, families
and typical families in the locality.
3.1.3. Status of archives preserved at archiving agencies
On archives component: Mostly administrative documents in addition
to scientific technological documents, audio visual documents and personal
documents
On archives chronology: The archives preserved at the archiving
agencies date back to 1488 until now.

On archives bearer: Most archives are recorded in paper beside wood,
film, discs, etc.
On language: The archives are recorded in different languages, such as
Chinese-Demotic script, Vietnamese, French, English, etc.
3.2. Analysis of the current archives using policy in Viet Nam
3.2.1. Documents regulating the archives using policy in Viet Nam
- Documents generally regulating the archives using policy in Viet Nam;
- Documents regulating the policy of archives access;
- Documents regulating the policy of archives usage organization;
- Documents regulating the policy of archives protection.
3.2.2. Policy of archives access
The policy of accessing archives refers to the State’s regulations on the right
to archives access of agencies, organizations and individuals to promote the
value of the archives.
The content of the policy of archives access includes the aim and
measures. The aim targeted at in this policy is to ensure the right to archives
access on the basis of safeguarding the national security and personal secrets
permitted by the law. To drive at such aim, the measures put forward include
general regulations on the archives accessing right; regulations on the right to
widespread access to archives; and those on the right to restricted access.
General regulations on the right to archives access
The 2013 Constitution emphasized “Citizens have the right to freedom
of speech, freedom of the press, access to information, meetings, association
and protests. The exercise of these rights is prescribed by law”.
Regulations on the right to widespread access to archives
The regulations associated with archives decoding lack clarity, as a
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result, restricting the right to widespread access to archives.

The regulations on archives ownership are ununiformed in documents,
thus restricting the right to assess archives belonging to individuals and the
State.
Regulations on the right to restricted access
Confidential information does not imply it is inaccessible, rather
accessible in certain cases as regulated by the State. Yet, the regulations to
allow for access are too general, making them difficult to apply in practice.
For documents on the list of restricted access, the current regulations
have not yet provided provisions on the procedure, process and access
conditions for documents of this type.
Hence, looking at the content of this policy, we can find that the aim of
the policy is to ensure the public’s right to archives access, but the measures
put forward to realize this aim have many inadequacies and need improving
so that the archives access really comes to life.
3.2.3. Policy of archives usage organization
The policy of organizing archives usage refers to the State’s regulations on
forms of using archives in order to bring the archives to the public in the
fastest, easiest and most convenient way.
The aim of the policy of organizing archives usage is to facilitate the
public to access the archives fast, easily and conveniently. To realize this
aim, the measures put forward are the State’s regulations on forms of using
archives, namely, regulations on traditional archives usage and regulations on
archives usage in time of the Industrial Revolution 4.0.
The current regulations to organize archives usage only focus on the
regulations on archives usage in the reading room while other traditional
forms of archives usage are sketchy without specific regulations. As a result,
most of the archiving agencies apply archives usage only in the reading room.
In time of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, other new forms of archives usage
like online reading room, E-publications, use of social networks, online
exhibition have been applied in Viet Nam. Still, the documents regulating

archives usage in the new forms have many gaps, so the forms have not yet
been widely in use. This fact greatly affects promotion of the archives’ value
for the time being.
3.3.4. Policy of archives protection
The policy of protecting archives refers to the State’s regulations on the right
and responsibility of agencies, organizations and individuals in preserving
and protecting archives to extend the age, prevent loss and damage, and
safeguard integrity of the archives.
To realize the aim of the policy of archives protection, the measures put
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forward include the State’s regulations on archives preservation and the
State’s regulations on archives protection.
- Regulations on archives preservation: The guiding documents,
manuals on archives preservation in recent years have demonstrated the
State's interest in this issue. This is an important legal basis for archiving
agencies and organizations to well perform their professional duties.
However, if analyzed adequately, besides the advantages, the legal archiving
system also contains some contents that have not been mentioned. In detail,
there is a lack of enforcement control mechanisms and severe sanctions.
These factors are considered to be the legal gaps in Vietnamese legal system
of archives, leading to arbitrary implementation.
- Regulations on archives protection: To safeguard archives, it is
crucial to regulate unified archives management. However, the concept of
archives management and ownership has not been clarified, implying loss of
archives, illegal archives trading or bringing archives abroad without control.
The Law on Archives stipulates behaviors prohibited during archives usage,
but there is still a lack of measures to handle violations. The regulations on
E-archives protection against stealing, copying, falsifying information, or

dispersing information in contrary to the law on archives protection have
come without legal sanctions for violations.
3.3. Evaluating the results from implementation of the archives using
policy in Viet Nam
3.3.1. Results achieved from Vietnamese policies of using archives
- Policy of archives access
The policy of archives access has created a legal corridor for the public
to have broad access to information in general and information in archives in
particular. Agencies and organizations possessing information also better
define their responsibilities in providing information to the public in
accordance with the law.
- Policy of archives usage organization
+ The policy of archives access has created an important corridor
which facilitates the State to issue the policy of organizing archives usage.
From that, the archiving agencies can apply and extend many other forms of
archives usage, enabling readers to access and use archives easily and
conveniently. It can be said that a number of regulations in line with the
reality have direct impact on effectiveness of archives usage. However, using
archives in the reading room remains the most applicable form in the Central
and local archiving agencies, which is proved in the chart below.

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Chart of archives usage at Central archiving agencies

Archives usage in the reading room
Quantity of articles
Archived publications
Exhibitions

Chart of archives usage at local archiving agencies

Archives usage in the reading
Introduction of archives
Exhibitions
Published publications

A look at the chart of archives usage in the archiving agencies at Central
and provincial levels shows that the number of turns of people who come to
the reading room to use archives counts for a high proportion (over 99% in
all), which demonstrates that archives usage in the traditional reading room
remains the most applicable form in the archiving agencies while other forms,
such as articles published in newspapers, magazines, websites, which
introduce or display archives, release publications for archive, holds a small
percentage (approx. 1% in total). Some localities like Bac Ninh, Lam Dong,
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Ba Ria- Vung Tau conduct archives usage only in the reading room without
applying other forms.
+ Regarding forms of archives usage in time of the Industrial
Revolution 4.0
The modern forms of archives usage today employed in the archiving
agencies include: introduction of archives via fanpage has been applied in
most of the archiving agencies; a number of electronic archives have been
published and can be accessed on the website of the State Records and
Archives Department; the online reading room has been utilized at the
national archives centres while online exhibitions are conducted only at the
Central archiving agencies.

Despite the lack of specific regulations, the archives usage forms that
meet the trend of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 have brought certain
effectiveness to the archives using activities in our country today.
- Policy of archives protection
+ Stores for archives preservation are sufficiently equipped.
+ All Central archiving agencies and 08/30 local archiving agencies
already surveyed have been supplied with standard stores as regulated at
Circular No 09/2007/TT-BNV on 26 November 2007 on Guide for dedicated
archives stores (Circular 09).
- Archives digitalization for long lasting preservation and area saving
has been implemented at Central and local archiving agencies (Hai Phong,
Ha Tinh) but in a large number.
- To safeguard personal archives and rare precious archives, some
archiving agencies have received a number of archives donated by
individuals and organizations.
3.3.2. Restrictions, inadequacies and causes
First, the regulations on archives access have been issued though, the
archives accessible are mainly of widespread access type.
Second, we should be frank to admit that the forms of archives usage
available at the archiving agencies are basically passive, normally taking
place in the reading room. Furthermore, the procedures and process for
accessing the archives in the reading room remain incomplete without
bringing about convenience and promptness archives users. The target
comers to archiving agencies for research and archives usage are mainly
managers, scientists while pupils and students account for a very small
number.
Modern forms of archives usage satisfying the readers' trend during the
Industrial Revolution 4.0 period have been deployed at the archiving
agencies but they not highly effective. Specifically, the use of online reading
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rooms at Central archiving agencies and in some localities has not been
applied in the true sense of the online reading room because the archives are
not always accessible anytime anywhere. The digitized documents are still
poor, accounting for only a very small amount of the total archives available
in the storehouse.
The form of publishing electronic publications has been implemented,
yet the promotion has not been expanded so such a form has not attracted a
large number of readers showing their interest.
Online exhibitions are a form of advanced archives usage employed by
many countries but in Viet Nam it is still new. Since 2018, the State
Department of Records and Archives in coordination with the National
Archives Centres have organized only two exhibitions. The local archiving
agencies have not been able to apply this form.
The social network of Facebook has been established at the Central and
local archiving agencies, but the introduction of archives on social networks
appears passive, without exploration of what the society needs and wants so
that the right purpose of the archives users can be responded to.
Third, presently, most of the central and local archiving agencies have
arranged archives rooms and storehouses for preserving archives. However,
many local storehouses do not meet the requirements of the dedicated
archives storehouse as guided in Circular No. 09.
Digitizing archives is a new form of preservation but has not yet been
commonly applied. Information security when deploying the archives
digitalizing service has not been paid sufficient attention and stressed, which
possibly leads to leakage, loss of data or disclosure of the State secrets.
Archives trading between individuals and archiving agencies is little.
Most valuable personal documents are deposited to archiving agencies
through donation.

3.3.3. Causes of the inadequacies and restrictions
First, the order of issuing policies is specified in the Government's
Decree No. 34/2016/ND-CP dated May 14, 2016, detailing a number of
articles and measures to implement the Law on Promulgation of Legal
Documents with concrete steps to take. Nevertheless, the actual practice
reveals many restrictions during coordination among related agencies in the
promulgation of policies. As a result, some regulations of the archives using
policy do not appear uniform and consistent in the issued documents, which
is also the reason why the archives using policy in our country is not
complete and synchronized.
Second, the policy issuance lacks the participation of the people in
general, researchers and managers in particular. Therefore, the issued
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policies are not close to reality, not able to attract and encourage the people
to participate in implementing the policies.
Third, the policy making capacity of civil servants is limited due to
lack of awareness of the archives using policy’s role. Moreover, practitioners
‘qualifications in archival work have not kept pace with the IT development
in the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The need to manage and use electronic
archives is and will be an inevitable trend of this era, which requires the
policy-making contingent to acquire a higher and higher level of information
technology.
Four, sanctions against violations of the archives using policy are not
specific, even with gaps, so the sanctions are not strong enough to deter
violation. Most regulations only deal with prohibited acts without stipulating
relevant sanctions; The regulations for building dedicated storehouses at
archiving agencies are only optional and not compulsory. Therefore, many
localities have not really paid attention to building such a dedicated

storehouse to safely preserve archives. Archives trading activities can still
occur but without a proper control mechanism. Thus, it could be noted that
the lack of severe sanctions and control mechanism are also causes of the
inadequacies visible in the archives using policy of our country today.
Five, several influential factors have also prevented our archives using
policy from working effectively.
Minor conclusion of Chapter 3
In Chapter 3 of the thesis, the author has given a general description of
the process of formation and development of the archiving agencies in Viet
Nam, and introduced the rich sources of archives preserved here. Besides, the
thesis has also studied the current situation of Vietnamese archives using
policy with 3 aspects: The policy of archives access, the policy of archives
usage organization and the policy of archives protection. A thorough
investigation into these three contents has provided the researcher a
comprehensive view of the archives using policy, which serves as a basis for
evaluating the results achieved and the restrictions existing in the policy.
The restrictions of the policy are analyzed by the author from different
causes, of which, the major ones are identified as: The procedure of policy
issuance is inadequate, the policy issuance lacks the participation of the
people and related stakeholders, the capacity of the policy making contingent
is limited and lack of sanctions for policy violations. In addition, there are
many other causes, among which the preferential treatment for archival work
practitioners, financial resources for policy implementation are also
considered as some of important causes determining effectiveness of the
policy implementation.
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Chapter 4.
TOWARDS COMPLETION OF THE ARCHIVES USING POLICY IN

VIET NAM
4.1. Context and orientation
4.1.1. Context
First, international integration and protection of territorial sovereignty
are on-going trends.
Beside the opportunities, the challenges of international integration are
issues that we need to consider and perceive properly. International
integration in an environment of fierce competition in terms of politics,
economics, the dominance of major countries and the complicated extremely
unpredictable happenings of the world requires maintenance of the
independence, autonomy, sovereignty protection and territorial integrity of
the country.
In the common situation of the world and the country, Vietnamese
Archives sector has also engaged in international cooperation and exchange
activities in the field of archives usage. Since Vietnam Archives became a
member of international archiving organizations, Vietnam Archives has had
opportunities to interact with countries around the world, thereby enabling
Viet Nam to learn the experiences from other countries. These valuable
experiences serve as the basis for development, promulgation and
implementation organization of the archives using policy in Viet Nam for the
time being.
Second, the administrative reformation is a very important factor to
promote the socio-economy in order to enhance the validity and effectiveness
of the State's operation.
In the trend of administrative reformation in all areas of social life, the
Archives sector is also required to accelerate its reforms. Such reforms
should stress on clear and specific regulations for archives access; The
administrative procedures related to archives usage should be simplified,
public and transparent; The quality of archives usage service should be
increasingly improved in various and diverse forms of archives usage;

Techno-scientific achievements should be applied to enhance the
effectiveness of archives usage.
Third, the IT development in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0 has a
strong impact on the development of nations.
The IT development and application have created many opportunities
for the operation of the Archives sector in general and archives usage in
particular. In developed countries, thanks to digital technology, archives have
been accessed anytime anywhere.
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It is a requirement for the current Archives sector to study advanced
achievements from overseas to improve the quality of archives usage in Viet
Nam. However, in order to undertake this job, the Archives sector also faces
many difficulties that need to be addressed, namely hacking, intrusion and
data stealing from outside by hackers. The accuracy level of information is
also affected by the function of the system to be used, which should be
regularly upgraded to adapt to the constant change of new technologies.
4.1.2. The Party’s orientation on archives usage in Viet Nam today
- The document of the 6th National Delegation Congress has alleged to
"well perform the archival work, safeguard and effectively use the national
archives".
- Archives refer to the documents, formed during the operation of
agencies, organizations and representative figures, having political, economic,
cultural, scientific, historical significance and other meanings, and preserved in
archiving rooms and storehouses. They present historical and cultural evidence
and have high legal validity. Therefore, an archived heritage is asserted as a
kind of cultural heritage with special value of the nation.
- To promote the value of archives, the policy of "modernizing the
library and archival work" was mentioned by the Party in the 9th National

Delegation Congress document. This is considered to be an important task
set out for the Archives sector.
- The Party’s 10th National Delegation Congress (April 2006) took
place in the context that our country had achieved a lot of important
achievements after 20 years of renovation (1986-2006). The task set by the
Party for the entire Archive sector in the new period is to "protect and
promote the value of archives ".
- The Politburo's Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW dated July 1, 2014 on
promoting IT application and development to meet the requirements of
sustainable development and international integration set objectives for IT
development in the new age.
From the guiding viewpoint given in this document, the operation of the
Archive sector tends to promote IT application to the activities of archival
work generally, and archives usage particularly in order to enhance the value
of archives to meet the demand for archives usage in the new situation.
4.2. Solutions to complete the archives using policy in Vietnam
4.2.1. Solutions to complete the policy of archives access
- On the policy of widespread access to archives
First, the regulation on widespread access to archives should be
promulgated in a synchronized manner in all policy-associated documents,
including: Law on Access to Information, Law on Intellectual Property, Law
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on Protection of State Secrets and Archive Law.
Second, the regulation on personal archives to be widely accessible 40
years after the owner’s death should determine in detail all components of the
personal archives, in which the personal works and the public’s works can be
widely accessed as regulated at Clause 1, Article 6 and Article 43 of the 2005
Intellectual Property Law without waiting for 40 years after the owner’s

death.
Third, the regulation on documents that have been declassified or expire
to be widely accessible is supplemented according to the normal process and
procedures set in the Archive Law.
Four, declassification of unidentified documents, which are determined
by agencies as the State secrets, needs to elaborate in specific plans.
Five, to avoid difficulties generated while declassifying archives at
archiving agencies, it is possible to stipulate that the agency that creates the
document should declassify the document by itself before submitting it to
archiving agencies.
- On the policy of restricted access to archives
First, it is necessary to clearly define the authority, processes and
procedures to access archives containing the State’s confidential information.
Currently, the Law on Protection of the State Secrets has not clarified this
content.
Second, for the list of archives with restricted access, it is required to
further specify the content of the document with restricted access so that the
head of the archiving agency can have a legal and scientific basis to approve
users of archives with restricted access. Also, all archiving agencies can allow
for synchronized and uniform access to documents of this type.
Third, in the list of restricted access to personal archives, it is necessary
to supplement the works created by individuals, for which it is "a must to ask
for permission and pay royalties, remuneration and other material benefits for
the copyright owners ”(Clause 3, Article 20 of the Intellectual Property Law);
and the works, if used, will infringe upon the State’s interests, the public
interests, the rights and legitimate interests of other organizations and
individuals, and other relevant provisions of the law (Article 7, Law
Intellectual property in 2005).
Four, it is necessary to promulgate the accessing process for personal
archives before due time or it is a must to request and pay fee for them as per

the Law on Intellectual Property; also the accessing process for archives in
the list of restricted access so that the archiving agency can have a legal and
scientific basis to approve individuals, organizations and agencies to have
easy and convenient access to documents of this type.
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4.2.2. Solutions to complete the policy of archives usage organization
- On traditional forms of archives usage
First, Complete the regulations on archives usage at the reading room,
issuance of copies and archive authentications
Second, for forms of archives publication, exhibitions and archives
displays, it is required to specify:
+Guidelines for publishing publications, exhibitions and archives
displays;
+ Authority to publish publications and organize exhibitions, archives
display;
+ Procedures for publishing publications and organizing exhibitions,
archives displays;
+ Guidance on specific operations of publishing publications and
organizing exhibitions, archives displays.
Third, for the form of bringing archives out of the archiving agency
The Law on Archives has provisions for bringing archives out of the
archiving agency for work, scientific research and other legitimate purposes
(Article 34). However, in order to apply these provisions in practice, it is
necessary to clarify in some contents on whether bringing archives abroad or
out of the archiving agency for work in the country.
- On forms of archives usage in time of the Industrial Revolution 4.0
First, the regulations for using archives on social networks should focus to:
- Encourage the archiving agencies and organizations to use social

networks to announce and introduce archives;
- Set specific conditions and guidelines to introduce archives to social networks
providing the copyright, confidentiality and timeliness requirements are met.
- Encourage media businesses and sponsors to participate in
coordinating and investing in modern technologies and techniques so that the
archiving agencies can provide information to the public fastest and most
effectively.
Second, for use of the online reading room, it is required to promulgate
guidance documents and professional instructions, including: The process of
building an online reading room; Criteria for archives selection in service for
building a list of serviceable documents on wide scaled networks; Standards
to be applied to the database; Design of an electronic portal for the reading
room; Regulations on the use of online reading rooms based on the same
principles as archives usage in traditional reading rooms.
Third, for online archives exhibition, the State should issue regulations
on application software to meet requirements, such as access
decentralization; ensurance of information security and authentication; ability
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to manage the database with large data capacity of many types of data
(information level 2, information level 1, including: texts, images, sound,
cinema films, etc.); ability to administer and collect fee from readers,
conforming to the international and national standards, meeting the service
requirements (search service, on-demand content service, online exhibition
service, content service on mobile devices, and other telecoms devices).
Four, regarding current publishing electronic archival publications,
apart from abiding by the usual publishing regulations as proposed above by
the author, the State is required to issue regulations on copyright protection
in the network environment; publish E-archives on the Internet websites with

Vietnamese Internet domain names in accordance with the law; and enact
sanctions against violations related to publishing E-archives, such as illegal
copying, falsifying the information content.
4.2.3. Solutions to complete the policy of archives protection
First, supplement regulations on the State and private archives
ownership in the Law on Archives, thereby promulgating specific provisions
on the rights and responsibilities of agencies in management and use of
archives belonging to the State ownership; authority and responsibilities of
individuals in use of archives privately owned. Specifically, it is necessary to
clarify the regulations on transfer, exchange, sale of archives, bringing Stateowned archives and private owned archives to other countries; Collect and
supplement the State-owned archives being scattered among the people by
means of purchase, sale, transfer, even expropriation if they are prone to
damage and need repairing and restoring in the archiving agencies.
Second, local governments need to strictly implement the Prime
Minister's Decision No. 1784 on balancing and reasonably allocating the
budget for dedicated storehouses construction, ensuring good conditions of
the facilities in order to collect and supplement archives as a source to be
deposited in archiving agencies on time, also supplement rare and precious
archives to enrich the composition of the archives of the State Archive Font.
Third, it is necessary to promulgate a policy to encourage individuals,
agencies and organizations to invest in archiving activities. The policy may
work as a joint venture between the State Records and Archives Department
and private corporations, such as Facebook, Google in document digitization.
Fourth, in the current circumstance, when the association activities with
individuals and private organizations to digitize archives have not yet been
carried out, it is necessary to promulgate regulations defining criteria for
digitalized archives. For example, criteria for the content, frequency and
physical condition of the archived document.
Fifth, it is necessary to promulgate regulations on archives security when
21

hiring archives digitalization service; Set specific requirements and conditions for
the units selected to digitize archives through public bidding, and determine their
liability if they leak or lose the archives, even disclose the State secrets.
Sixth, regarding sanctions for violations in archives protection, the
following provisions need supplementing.
- Sanctions for acts of damaging, counterfeiting, falsifying, selling and
transferring illegal archives;
- Sanctions for organizations and individuals that violate the regulations
on protection of the State secrets while using archives. Individuals and
organizations in the Archive sector, who take advantage of protecting the
State secrets to hinder the citizens' access to archives, should be strictly
punished. Individuals and organizations, who utilize the State secrets to carry
out acts of posting and spreading the State secrets on the mass media, social
networks and other telecoms services, should also bear severe punishment.
4.2.4. Other solutions
Firstly, improve the capacity of agencies, cadres and civil servants who
are engaged in policy making,
Secondly, train and retrain the human resources for the Archive sector,
Thirdly, apply science and technology in management and use of Earchives, and
Fourthly, provide more measures to propagate and disseminate
legislations on archives so that all agencies, organizations and the people
understand the significance and value of archives, thereby consciously using
and preserving archives in accordance with the regulations set by law in order
to long preserve and effectively promote the values of archives.
Minor conclusion of Chapter 4
As oriented, the solutions to complete the archives using policy in Viet
Nam fall into three major groups, namely Solutions to complete the policy of
archives access; Solutions to complete the policy of archives usage

organization; and Solutions to complete the policy of archives protection in
addition to other solutions. These groups of solutions need to be implemented
in a synchronous manner with the role of the leader identified along with the
determination and proper awareness by the State agencies about the need to
complete the archives using policy. Without these timely actions, it is hard for
the policy to be implemented in practice. A public administration in the
context of the world always evolving and developing with the constructive
government needs to guarantee the policies promulgated in line with the rule
of social mobilization and development. Completing the archives using policy
to achieve the target of promoting the archives’ value is an indispensable
requirement of that developmental trend.
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CONCLUSIONS
Facing the requirements of the new period, the role of archives in
Vietnamese society has been increasingly asserted, resonating with an
increasingly advanced intellectual level, the demand for exploitation and
using archives to serve diverse purposes of social life is becoming an
inevitable trend. Meeting this legitimate demand has created considerable
pressure on the State management agencies in general and the Archive sector
in particular. The reality shows that the archives usage in Viet Nam in recent
years has been facing many difficulties and shortcomings, especially when
the policies have not created a favorable environment for promoting the
value of archives. Upon an overview of the related studies, the author has
observed that many studies have investigated into the theory and practice of
archives usage, including the contents associated with measures to promote
their value. However, those works have not been engaged in-depth in the
theory and practice of the archives using policy, a factor that plays an
important role in creating a legal corridor for effective archives usage.

Hence, the study entitled “Policy to use archives in Viet Nam” has
obtained practical significance both in theory and practice as presented
below.
In theoretical terms, based on the research of theoretical viewpoints by
scientists and the practices inland and overseas, the thesis has generalized the
major contents of public policies, the archives using policy, its content and
aims, factors affecting its content and the criteria to evaluate the policy.
In practical terms, the author has studied the experiences of the
archives using policy implemented overseas, e.g. in China, the United States,
the Russian Federation, South Korea, Singapore and some other countries to
draw lessons for Viet Nam in terms of completion of the policy.
Moreover, the thesis has also worked on the reality of the archives
using policy in Viet Nam from 3 aspects: Policy on archives access, Policy
23